Batman: Fright Knight
by WhoThere
Summary: It's been two weeks since the event of "Arkham Analyzed" and all has been quiet, until now; with only three days till Halloween Scarecrow has decided to give Gotham a night remember, however this is all part of a much bigger plot.
1. Three Days Till Halloween

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

* * *

**THREE DAYS TILL **_**H**__A__L_**L**_**O**__O_**W**EE_**N**_

* * *

The silence of the night was broken by the sound of a window shattering into a million pieces and a heavy thump following it. The low-life thug who had just been thrown through it coughed and tried to pick himself up but Batman kicked him back down again.

"I can throw you through windows all night, now tell me where is Joker!"

"I don't know I swear, if anything I thought you would be looking for Scarecrow."

Batman picked the thug up by his collar. "And why's that?"

"Because of his thugs, they're everywhere, I got jumped by one the other day."

"So where is Scarecrow then?"

"I…uh…don't know that either."

Batman threw the thug against the brick wall. "I must be getting old, I didn't quite hear you."

"He said he knew nothing." A voice said from behind the two men.

Batman looked round and saw Robin standing there. "I thought you were busy tonight." Batman said, dropping the thug and walking off down an ally.

"I was but now I'm not. Have you found out anything about Joker yet?"

"No." Batman snapped. "Everyone keeps pointing me towards Scarecrow but none of them know where he is."

"Sounds like Joker told them to say that." Robin said.

"Of course he did."

"Wow you really are annoyed tonight. Alfred did warn me."

"I have to find Joker; he's planning something big; I can feel it."

"You know it's only three more days 'till Halloween right? I'm guessing that Scarecrow might strike then. It's been two weeks since he escaped from Arkham and we've heard nothing from him."

Batman stopped and sighed. "If Joker is planning something it'll start with Scarecrow, his Laughing Gas was in his blood stream. He must have been testing it with Crane's fear toxin."

Just then a voice could be heard over Batman's radio piece in his cowl. "Batgirl here, you there Batman?"

"I'm here, what have you got?"

"Substance X is deadly."

"Substance X?" Robin questioned.

"It's what we're calling the chemicals in Crane's blood stream." Batman said.

"No matter what antidote I give it Substance X just eats it…literally. It must be eating away at Crane's body, but the process is very slow and further tests indicate that it would take about a month to kill someone. Their organs would just be eaten…I…it's making me feel sick thinking about it."

"Looks like I need to find Crane then." Batman said.

Robin smiled. "Told you so."

* * *

_ARKHAM ASYLUM_

* * *

Doctor Tim Maybury sat in his office with his chin resting on his hand; a bored looking expression covered his face. Bags lay under his eyes and stubble was forming where he hadn't shaved for days. A knock on the door shook him out of his trance.

"What?" He snapped.

Doctor Jenny Craig walked in. "How you feeling today?"

"The same as yesterday and the day before that." He said bluntly.

"Maybe you should get help Tim, being threatened by a maniac is a scary thing but,"

"It's not that." He said cutting her off.

"Oh, then what is it?"

"I let him go, that bugs me. I should have stopped him, now he's out there free to kill whoever he wants."

"You couldn't have stopped him."

"Also Joker and Crane are out there along with Riddler and Catwoman. Crane really needed help, he was sick. He was my patient and he escaped. But what really scares me is Joker. That man is sick, really sick and he's got this huge bad plan."

"How do you know he has a plan?" Jenny asked.

"I just…do." Maybury sighed. "I just can't get any sleep lately; keep waking up at one or two in the morning."

"You need to relax; you're coming over to mine tonight."

"Am I?"

"Yep, we can watch a movie, get a curry and you can sleep in my spare room."

"You don't have to do this."

"You're right, I don't; but I want too."

"Thank you." Maybury smiled.

Jenny hugged him. "That's what I like to see, a smile."

* * *

_Gotham City Police Department _

* * *

Commissioner James Gordon sat in his office looking at several files. He took his glasses off, yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"I must be getting old; these nights really are getting to me." He said to himself.

His door flung open. "Commissioner!"

"What happened to knocking?" He asked.

"Sorry sir." The officer said.

Gordon sighed. "It's ok, what did you want."

"I thought you might like to know that there have been several reports of attacks by men in Scarecrow masks. At first I thought it was just thugs getting ready for Halloween and I sent several officers but…"

"It could have something to do with Scarecrow." Gordon said finishing the sentence. "You're coming with me Davis; bring Sawyer and Bullock as well."

The four police men sped off towards where the Scarecrow thugs had been sited. "I don't get it, why are we hunting down a bunch of guys with burlap sacks?" Bullock asked gruffly.

"Because Scarecrow broke out of Arkham two weeks ago and it's only three days 'till Halloween. These nutters can't resist things like that. Try to keep up Bullock." Sawyer said.

"Yeah, yeah alright, cut me some slack. I've just got back from holiday."

Davis laughed. "You mean forced vacation right?"

"There weren't nothing forced about Davis!" Bullock exclaimed.

"Not what I heard." Sawyer said joining in.

"Ok cut it out." Gordon warned. "The last thing we need now is a break up, besides this is where the thugs were spotted. Everyone get out and sweep the area, we'll keep in contact by walkie-talkie."

The four of them split up and searched the area. It was made more difficult as it was night and most of the street lamps didn't work. They had been smashed with rocks or whatever thugs could get their hands on.

"This is bull." Bullock said on the walky-talky.

"Keep your eye's open." Gordon replied.

"I've found something." Sawyer said. "I think it's one of their masks."

She bent down and picked it up, blood could be seen on it. Dried blood. Just then she heard a crash of bins.

"I think I can hear one of them."

"Wait for back up Detective." Gordon ordered.

"I can handle it."

"You think you can handle all of us?" A voice said from the shadows.

Several masked thugs walked out with pipes in there hands and one of them even had a tazer.

"Come on pig, you think you can beat us? Ha ha! You're all alone."

"Who said she's alone?"

The thugs spun round and saw Robin standing behind them.

"Ha! On your own tonight bird boy? No Batman to save you."

"First off, I don't need Batman to save me because I can kick all your ass's and second…what makes you think _I'm_on my own?"

One of the thugs felt a tap on his shoulder, as he turned round he saw Batman just inches away from his face.

"Boo." Batman said threateningly. Then punched the thug across the face and kneed him in the stomach.

The rest of the thugs charged at Batman, Robin and Sawyer but were quickly dispatched by a punch to the gut or a kick in the groin. Batman walked over to one who was still conscious and picked him up and slammed him up against a wall.

"Where's Scarecrow?"

"I…I…"

"I can't hear you." Batman said slamming him against the wall again.

"I don't know, I really don't know. He came to us and gave these masks and told us to create havoc. Then he disappeared, we never saw him again."

Robin walked up to Batman. "Wow, he squealed quicker than any thug ever before."

"Just don't hurt me man, I'll…I'll go to prison just don't hurt me."

Batman dropped him to the floor and Sawyer handcuffed him.

"Thanks for the help, but I could have handled them." She said bitterly.

"What?! Like hell you could have!" Robin exclaimed. "Why are you always so ungrateful?"

"Calm down Robin." Gordon said walking up to them speedily with Davis and Bullock following.

Robin smiled at Bullock. "How was your forced vacation Detective?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that, I choose to take time off; no one forced me!"

Gordon walked over to Batman. "Any leads on the substance in Crane's blood stream?"

"Yes, it can't be killed; it eats everything, including your organs." Batman said bluntly.

"So right now Crane must be in hell." Gordon sighed.

"Err Batman!" Robin called out. "You might want to hear this."

Gordon and Batman walked over to the police car and listened to the radio. The voice sounded like it belonged to the un-dead, it was distorted and something about it seemed not completely human. This voice was designed to scare you and only one villain in Gotham specialised in fear.

"Gotham City," He began. "I've been watching you from the shadows. My whole life I have watched you intently. I've seen what your lives consist of, the same constant series of actions over and over again until you die. I know what you dream of. What you keep hidden. I know what you fear. You fear the raving psychopaths of Gotham, you fear at what they can do and what they are capable of doing. The parents fear that there kids will be murdered by a random placed bomb just so a villain can strike out at Batman…Gotham's so called hero. The children fear that their parents will walk down an ally on their way home and never come out again. But what you fear most is Batman. Even if you don't admit it you fear him, I know you do. I've seen you run in fear and whisper his name as if it's forbidden, all that is about to change. On Halloween night I will give Gotham City the fright of its life. My name is Scarecrow…and you always fear what you don't understand."

Then the radio went dead.

"What channel was that on?" Batman asked.

"Err, Gotham Central One." Bullock said.

Batman put his finger against his ear. "Batgirl are you there?"

"I'm here."

"I need you to find out what's going on at Gotham Central Radio Tower. Scarecrow just broadcast his threat."

"Ok I'm scanning now…that's weird. Powers down, I can't access any of their security camera's."

"Me and Robin are going over there now."

"Ok, be careful; it is most probably a trap, over and out."

* * *

_JENNY CRAIGS APARTMENT_

* * *

"Out of his mind!" Maybury shouted. "All of them are out of there minds. Why can't they just go away?"

"Because they're ill Tim." Jenny said.

"Crane is dying. If I was dying I would trying to find a cure or visiting family or be in a hospital bed. But what does he do, threatens the city."

"You keep saying he's dying but how do you know this?" She asked.

"The blood samples you had before you had to give them up. We saw what was happening. His cells were dying. They would just disappear."

"That doesn't mean he was dying."

"Then what does it mean?"

Jenny didn't answer.

"Tim, I've been meaning to ask. There's been rumours going round Arkham that on the day of the breakout you were seen with Batman and Commissioner Gordon."

"Yeah I was, Batman was asking me about Freeze and the Commissioner was making sure I was ok."

"Oh right, I thought you might have been involved with them or something."

Maybury laughed trying to hind up the fact that he was. "No that would be, impossible. I mean I'm just a doctor. Why would they want me?"

* * *

_GOTHAM CENTRAL RADIO TOWER_

* * *

Batman kicked the doors open and glass shattered everywhere.

"So we're not going for the silent approach then?" Robin said.

"He knows we're here." Batman looked around the room. His eye's shining in the dark. "No heat signatures on this floor." He looked up.

"There's something on the top floor." Batman and Robin ran up the stairs, flight after flight they ran, not even feeling the strain thanks to all the intense training they had done over the years.

They finally reached the top floor.

"Scarecrow has to be here." Robin whispered.

Batman walked up to the door and kicked it open, much like the one he did on the ground floor.

A thin figure sat in a chair shrouded by darkness.

"About time, I thought you were never coming." The distorted voice mocked.

"It's over Crane."

"Oh no, not Crane. Just Scarecrow."

"You're dying, you need help. We can help you." Robin said.

"That's where you're wrong, I thought I was dying as well but it turns out I was only getting stronger."

"You know you have been poisoned." Batman said. "Joker used his Laughing Gas on you and it's been mixed with your Fear Toxin."

"I'm not listening to you. I'm stronger then ever before and I'm going to prove it. You have three days. Three days to figure out my plan, three days to stop me, three days to save Gotham."

"I'm ending this now!" Batman ran up to Scarecrow and grabbed him but he was sprayed with Fear Gas.

Scarecrow kneed Batman in the gut and punched him across the face. "You will fear me!"

Robin ran up to the villain and attacked him; however the fight looked different from Batman's point of view. What he saw was that Robin was being beaten by Scarecrow. Blood splattered over Batman's face.

"No. It's not real." He said to himself.

"Bruce." A voice whispered. "Bruce."

"No! Not again. My fathers dead." Batman said quietly.

"Help!" A child's voice screamed out. Batman looked up and saw himself as a young boy.

"No!" He screamed and the visions began to shake, the real world was coming back. He saw that Scarecrow and Robin were still fighting.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Scarecrow laughed. "That was only a small amount of my Toxin. Just wait until I perfect it."

Robin punched the villain across the face and he stumbled to the floor. Scarecrow ran to the window and jumped out of it. Batman and Robin looked out of the window but he was no where to be seen. Batman looked down at street level and saw several cop cars there.

"You think the police got him?" Robin asked.

"No." Batman replied.

"You ok Batman? You sounded pretty scared."

"I'll be fine, I should have been more careful. I need to think more."

"It was just a mistake, everyone makes them."

"I'm not everyone." Batman stated still feeling the effects of the toxin.

* * *

_IN THE BAT CAVE_

* * *

"How's it coming along?" Nightwing asked whilst getting off his motorcycle.

Barbara turned round and smiled weakly. "This stuff is impossible Dick."

"Impossible?" Nightwing asked taking of his mask.

"Everything we have in the Bat cave does nothing to it. Doesn't even phase it, it just keeps eating."

"Sounds…nasty. Have you heard anything from Bruce and Tim yet?"

"They went to the Radio Tower because Scarecrow was broadcasting a threat there."

Dick walked over to the lab table where Barbara was looking through a highly advanced microscope.

"I thought I would check if our new friend Maybury was ok."

"And?"

"He wasn't at home. Searched the area for a while and found him in a takeaway with a woman, so in other words he's fine. You know for his sake I hope no super villains find out that he's working with us."

"Why?"

"Why? Because they'll kill him!"

Barbara looked up. "Sorry I was concentrating on this. I'm sure Maybury will be fine, we and my Dad have his back covered."

"Yeah." Dick agreed.

"Master Dick, you worry far too much." Alfred said bringing some food towards them. "I thought that seen as you missed dinner that by now you would be hungry."

"Erm, I kinda had a takeaway when I was following Maybury so I'm full." Dick smiled innocently.

"You had a takeaway? What would Master Bruce say?" Alfred joked.

"I haven't had a takeaway for months, I thought I deserved it."

Barbara laughed. "That kind of food will make you fat and slow."

"Not me." Dick said patting his stomach. "Fast metabolism."

"Barbara!" Batman's voice called out over the Bat computer.

"I'm here."

"You have three days to find an antidote for substance X."

"Why three days?"

"Because I think that's how long Crane has left, that's why he said three days until he attacks Gotham."

"So he's going out with a bang then?" Barbra asked.

"Sort of, I'm heading back to the cave now. Over and out."

"Great." Dick said smiling in disbelief. "Three days until Halloween, three days till Scarecrow dies, three days till the end of Gotham. Just another day at the office."


	2. Two Days Till Halloween

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

* * *

**TWO DAYS TILL **_**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

* * *

"Scarecrow broadcast his threat at Eleven o'clock exactly." Bruce said typing away at his huge Bat computer. "That is no coincidence. That's when he will attack."

"Eleven O'clock Halloween night, you sure Bruce?" Dick asked.

"Trust me, I know how he works."

"So we have now have only two days until he kills everyone." Barbra said.

"What?"

"It's twenty past one in the morning." Barbara said pointing to the clock on the Bat computer.

"So he's not messing around then, he really wants to do it." Tim said.

Bruce sighed. "We need to find his hideout, then find out how he plans to attack Gotham and then stop him."

"He could be hiding anywhere in Gotham." Dick said.

"He said something about perfecting his Fear Toxin which means he will be needing more chemicals."

"So where would he go?" Tim asked.

"Wayne Chemical's is the only place to go, everywhere else shutdown because they couldn't keep up." Dick answered. "There is LexCorp as well but I doubt Scarecrow would go all the way to Metropolis just for chemicals."

"Unless he already went." Bruce said.

"So the two weeks of silence was him preparing?" Tim added slightly confused.

"This all sounds way too planed." Barbara pointed out.

Bruce stared at the computer screen. "That's because it is planned. This plan has been waiting for years. We stop Scarecrow and we can see the whole picture."

"You know if we fail they'll step in." Dick said to Bruce.

"We won't fail."

Tim scratched his head. "Whose they?"

"Cadmus."

Bruce stood upright. "Cadmus will not get involved."

"They will if we fail and you know that, this is a huge threat; you've seen the men in black suits watching and don't deny it. They're waiting for us to slip up. All of us, I've been asking around."

"What do you mean?"

"Other superheroes, Green Lantern, Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman; they've all seen the same, men and women in black suits watching them. Cadmus is growing Bruce. Soon we'll all be arrested for being vigilantes."

"Cadmus is under control Dick, do you think I would let an organization like that exist without watching it. I know everything about them. I know who's in charge and who's doing what. I know every project they have going, they're under control!"

"Yeah because Project Doomsday sounds safe doesn't it!" Dick shouted back. "I've been watching them as well and they are dangerous."

"Then go stop them, I'll even give you their address." Bruce said sarcastically.

"You are ridiculous, you think that because you've hacked their files and seen a bit about them that they are safe, you are so stubborn. Why can't you just think for a second that you maybe wrong. That the world's greatest detective may have missed one small thing. Why do you never listen to me? I thought that when I left as Robin then came back as Nightwing maybe something would have changed, maybe you would listen to me. Treat me as your partner, but no. You're just as worse as ever."

Dick headed towards the exit but stopped, he looked at Tim. "Word of advice kid, you may look up to him now but in a couple of years time you'll see him for what he really is. An ill man with a personal vendetta so great that it kills everything good inside of you, so here's what I'm saying to you. Run now; get away while you still can."

Dick got on his motor cycle and sped off out of the Bat cave and into the night.

* * *

_JENNY CRAIGS APARTMENT_

* * *

Maybury woke up to see that his room was still dark. Still groggy he half looked at the clock.

"10:20." He mumbled.

At first the time didn't register in his head, but then it did. "10:20!" He exclaimed. "I'm late, bugger it!"

He quickly put on what he was wearing last night and ran out of his room. "Jenny! We're late!"

"No we're not!" She called back.

Maybury walked into the living room to find her sitting on the sofa watching TV. "Yes we are. It's 10:20, well 10:22 now."

"What would we be doing at Arkham? Everything's in lockdown. The Warden isn't letting any Doctor interview patients anymore and the whole Medical Wing has been shutdown as well."

Maybury sighed and sat down next to her. "I suppose you're right, looks like a day of relaxing then."

Just as he said that Maybury's mobile started ringing. "Hello? What now? Ok, I'll be there soon."

"What was that about?" Jenny asked.

"Bad news." Maybury replied solemnly.

* * *

_COMMISSIONER GORDONS OFFICE _

* * *

Gordon, Maybury and Batman stood in the rather large office.

"What are you doing out in day light?" Maybury asked Batman half joking.

"You seen the weather?" Gordon replied. "Looks like night out there."

"We have until Eleven O'clock Halloween night, that's when Scarecrow will attack Gotham." Batman said.

"So why am I here?" Maybury asked.

"Because we need you at Arkham." Gordon answered.

"Arkham is in lockdown. No one see's the patients, the Medical Wing is shutdown and,"

"We don't need you to talk to the patients." Batman said. "We need you to search Scarecrow's cell and pull up every file on him, then give them to Gordon."

Maybury thought for a moment. "The Warden wouldn't let me, like I said everything is in lockdown. If you got a warrant though he'd have no choice."

"Ok so I'll go with you to Arkham, what will you be doing?" Gordon asked Batman.

"Searching Gotham, the thugs won't expect me to be to out now. I'll stick to the shadows though."

"Of course, the last thing you would want is the thugs and mob bosses to be afraid to come in the day as well as night." Gordon joked.

"I don't get it, why is Scarecrow threatening the city. He usually focus's on people that wronged him and you." Maybury said pointing to Batman.

"The drug that's in his system is killing him; it's also affecting his mind. He knows deep down that he will die on Halloween night. That's why he's doing this; he's proving that everyone should fear him, even after he's dead."

"Batman?" Barbara's voice said over in his in-suit radio. "We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"It's Substance X. It's mutated."

"In to what?"

"I'm not sure; you know we said that the substance was eating the other cells and then the organs, well it was eating them but also replacing them with mutated cells."

"Mutated in what way?"

"I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is we can be sure it's not good. I'll update you when I have more information, over and out."

Batman looked back at Maybury and Gordon. "We have to move fast."

* * *

_ELSEWHERE_

* * *

Jonathon Crane sat in his chair scribbling away and mumbling to himself until he heard a whisper. Crane froze on the spot.

"Who's there?" He hissed.

No one answered but the indecipherable whispering continued.

Crane attached two small devices around his wrist. These were small pressurized containers that his Fear Toxin was stored in.

"You won't need those." The voice said.

"Who are you?!" Crane shouted.

Scarecrow stepped out of the shadows, but last time Crane checked he was Scarecrow.

"What?" Was all he could say.

"My name is Scarecrow."

"But I'm Scarecrow!" Crane protested.

"It's seems that all that Fear Toxin has us seeing double, and I'm sure being injected with Joker's Laughing Gas didn't help either."

"What?"

Scarecrow laughed, his inhuman voice echoed. "You don't remember, good. I didn't want you to. I blocked it from you, I've been protecting you all these years Jonathon. Ever since you created me I've watched over you, I've taken the beatings from Batman not you."

"What do you want?"

"We have to destroy Gotham, both of us. That's where we've been going wrong before, only ever one of us was in control; but if we both take the wheel no one will be able to stop us."

"Why do we have to destroy Gotham?" Crane asked innocently.

"Because no one fears us, they laugh at us." Scarecrow said whispering into Crane's ear. "They think we are a joke, but we will show them that Jonathon Crane and Scarecrow are who they should fear most. Even more than the devil himself." Scarecrow hissed.

"Yes." Crane smiled sadistically. "The whole of Gotham will tremble at our names. Even Batman will learn to fear us."

"But first we have to strike out at his friends. Commissioner Gordon and his team, as well as Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing and last but not least Doctor Maybury."

"Maybury, why him?" Crane asked confused.

"You've heard the rumours; Maybury is working with the bat!" Scarecrow spat.

"But Maybury did try to help us, he was kind."

"And for that we owe him a quick death."

"Kill him, but…"

"Do you want to be feared?" Scarecrow roared.

"Yes!" Crane shouted back.

"Then sacrifices must be made, I'm the only friend you'll ever need. I'll take the beatings, I'll take the pain. No other friend would do that…would they?"

Crane shook his head.

"Good. Now let us put our plan in action."

* * *

_ARKHAM ASYLUM_

* * *

"Why are you here Commissioner?" The Warden snapped.

"I have a warrant here to search Jonathon Crane's cell and take all of his files until further notice."

The Warden snatched the warrant out of Gordon's hand and looked at it. "Everything looks in order. Fine, go search Crane's cell, be quick about it though and don't disturb the other inmates."

"Also I'll be interviewing Doctor Tim Maybury as he was,"

"Yes, yes fine. Now just go!"

Gordon walked out of The Warden's office. Maybury was waiting there for him. "How did it go?"

"Is he always like that?" Gordon asked.

"Yep." Maybury said quickly.

The two men headed over to Crane's cell passing various other inmates such as Firefly and Victor Zsasz.

"So it is true then." Zsasz said. "You are working with Gordon and Batman."

Gordon turned to the killer. "No he's not working with me or Batman, I'm taking him down to the station soon to interview him. For all we know he had a hand in helping Crane escape."

As they walked away from the villains Maybury whispered to Gordon. "Thanks."

"Your welcome, we look out for each other."

"Ok this is Crane's cell. No one has been in here since he escaped."

Gordon looked under the bed but found nothing, he pulled the mattress up as well but nothing was there. As he dropped it what looked like dust shot out.

"That's a lot of dust." Gordon said suspiciously.

The two of them covered there mouths. Gordon pulled out his Swiss army knife and cut into the mattress. Inside it was two small burlap sacks. Gordon opened one of them and pulled out a sealed up plastic bag full of powder. Gordon opened up the other sack and more powder fell out.

"That explains why Crane was constantly scared out of his skin." Maybury said. "That's his Fear Toxin in powder form."

"But the real question is who put there?" He pulled out a police radio. "This is Gordon; I need a chemical clean up crew at Arkham Asylum."

"Be there in five." The voice said back.

"Someone must have planted it there." Maybury said. "Crane wouldn't do this to himself, you should have seen him. He was jumping at his own shadow. Also said that voices were talking to him, later he said the voice was Scarecrow."

Gordon's face narrowed. The pieces were slowly coming together. "I need all his files. I think someone planted it here not for revenge, but maybe for an experiment. I think Batman's right. Joker's behind all of this."

* * *

_THE BACK ALLEY'S OF GOTHAM_

* * *

"I won't ask again!" Batman said threateningly. He threw a thug against a wall and punched several others.

"Where is Scarecrow?!"

Another two thugs jumped at Batman. He grabbed one of them by the arm and twisted it, then kicked the other across the face and his kneecap which gave off a sickening crunch.

"You think we gunna rat 'im out? That dude scares us."

"I'm a lot worse." Batman said towering over one of the thugs.

"L…look, even if I did know where he was I couldn't tell ya." The thug stammered.

"Oh yeah, why not?"

"Do you know what he'd do to me? He'd show me my worst nightmare, hell; I could even have a heart attack!"

Batman leaned into the thug. "It may be day light and you may not fear me right now but you have two choices. One, you tell me where Scarecrow is. Two, you don't say anything and be the tough guy."

"Number Two sounds good." The thug whispered.

Batman lent even closer. "But do you know what I do to tough guys?" He said clicking his knuckles.

The thug smiled weakly. "You let them go?"

"Wrong answer."

* * *

_ARKHAM ASYLUM_

* * *

"This everything you got on Crane?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah, everything I know about anyway. Oh there is one more thing but it's classified, you would need The Warden's password."

"Is it on The Warden's network?" Gordon asked.

"No, level four and above."

"I'll get Batman to hack it."

"Isn't that breaking the law?" Maybury questioned.

"Some laws I'm willing to break…all be it that is the only one." He smiled. "I don't like it but we don't have a choice, unless The Warden is willing to give us the password."

"I doubt that." Maybury smiled back.

"I thought so." Gordon shut the large cabinet. He now had a rather large folder marked "Crane, Jonathon".

"Ok that's everything," Gordon was cut off however by screams.

"What was that?" Maybury asked.

Gordon put the folder down and took out his gun. "Get behind me."

Once again a scream was heard then silence. Gordon and Maybury walked up to the office door and slowly peered out.

A hand grabbed Maybury's face and another punched Gordon's. The two men were both caught off guard. Maybury grabbed at the hand grasping his face. When he got free he saw Scarecrow standing over him.

"Hello Doctor." He said in his distorted voice.

"Crane." Maybury spluttered.

"No, No. Just Scarecrow." The villain aimed his hand at Maybury ready to fire his Fear Toxin at him but Maybury grabbed his arm and punched him in the stomach.

"Now, now, is that how you treat all your ex-patents?" Scarecrow laughed.

"Thought I'd try the old Arkham method and beat the insanity out of you." Maybury went to punch Scarecrow again but got grabbed by his collar and head butted. He felt blood trickle down his face.

"Maybury get down!" Gordon yelled out and aimed his gun at Scarecrow.

"Shoot and the good Doctor here has the fright of his life. It's your choice Commissioner."

"Damn it! What do you want Crane?"

"I told you my name is Scarecrow! I've just come back for something that belongs to me."

"We found your powder. What was it doing in your mattress?"

"Oh good you found it, you see I put it there."

"What? Why?" Gordon asked confused.

"So I could free myself, what's wrong still not following? Let me break it down for you. Crane was a weak person, he always was. His whole life he was bullied and picked on; however that stopped when he created me. So desperate to be the predator instead of the pray he literally wished me into existence. I'm Crane's other half, the truly dark side to him. I…am…Scarecrow!" He hissed.

Maybury took his chance to knee Scarecrow in the stomach. "Arg!" The villain groaned, at the same time a spray of Toxin shot out and covered Maybury.

Gordon fired his gun but Scarecrow dived out of the way and into the office. Gordon ran up to the villain who popped out in front of him and knocked his gun out of his hand. Gordon however kicked Scarecrow in the stomach and punched him round the face.

"What, you thought because I carried a gun I couldn't fight?" Gordon said.

"No, I thought you were a coward, never using your gun. You could shoot us all if you wanted to. End it once and for all, but you can't. You lack the courage to UH!"

Gordon punched Scarecrow again. "Shut up Crane."

"Ha! Ha! Getting angry? Good." Scarecrow taunted.

"What are you planning?!"

"I've already told you. On Halloween night Gotham gets the fright of its life."

"So you're going to gas the city?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Frustrating not knowing isn't it, a kind of silent fear, speaking of which I wonder how Doctor Maybury is doing?"

Maybury opened his eyes to find that he was bound in a straight jacket and locked in one of the cells. "Hello?" He called out, his voice echoing. "Help me; I'm not a patient here."

A face slammed against his cell door. "We get that a lot." The voice was raspy; as the light shone on the face it revealed two of them.

"Two-Face!" Maybury exclaimed.

"Who are you calling Two-Face?" Another voice snarled. This one belonged to Killer Croc.

Mr. Freeze walked up to Maybury's cell. "You said you would help us, not conspire against us."

"What are you talking about?"

"You sold us out to Batman and Gordon!" Croc shouted.

"We trusted you to help us." Two-Face said. "Now look what you have done to us."

"Now, now boy's. I say we give him another chance." Joker's face appeared out of the darkness. "If he survives this nightmare, we forgive him."

"And if he doesn't?" Two-Face asked.

"Well if he don't he won't be coming back to reality any time soon. HAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"No!" The floor beneath Maybury disappeared and he fell, soon enough though he hit the floor. His straight jacket had disappeared. His Mother and Father stood in front of him.

"I thought you were going to make us proud son?" His Father said.

"Why aren't you helping people?" His Mother joined in.

"I am…I…Me, Gordon and Batman. We're fighting the bad guys."

His Dad shook his head. "No, Batman and Gordon are fighting the bad guys. You're snitching on the ill ones, the ones that need your help; you're betraying them."

"That's not how I raised you." His Mother said disappointed. They began to fade away into the darkness.

"No don't go! I am doing well, I am helping."

"Keep telling yourself that." Scarecrows voice said. "You're no better than a prison snitch; do you know what they do to prison snitches?"

"I'm not afraid." Maybury said weakly.

"Oh I think you are. Look at yourself, you're sweating; shaking. You can barely stand. Just give up. Go to sleep. Just lie down and die!"

"NO!" Maybury shouted.

"YES!" Scarecrow yelled back. Blood began to trickle down the walls. "This is the blood that will be spilt if you carry on with this pathetic crusade of yours."

Dead bodies began to haul themselves out from the ground and walk over to Maybury. "These are the lives that will be lost."

"Come on." A voice said. "You can fight it." It was Gordon's voice.

"You will die!" Scarecrow hissed inhumanly.

"None of it is real, just fight the Toxin." Gordon's voice was getting stronger.

"You can't beat me; I am the master of fear!"

"Go to hell!" Maybury shouted.

"I will be back." Scarecrow said, and then his voice disappeared.

Maybury began to wake up.

Gordon smiled at him. "The worst is over; you did well fighting it, most people would have given up."

"Where's Scarecrow?" Maybury asked.

"He escaped. I either apprehended him or helped you." Gordon helped Maybury to his feet.

"Thanks."

"Like I said, we watch out for each other." Gordon said.

* * *

_THE BACK ALLEYS OF GOTHAM_

* * *

Batman dropped the thug to the floor and he crumpled over several bits of garbage.

"Waste of time." Batman mumbled in frustration. He put his finger to his ear. "Batgirl are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here, how's your hunt going?"

"No one knows anything; I think I'm going to have to come at this from a different angle."

"Ok, by the way there's been no word on Nightwing."

"I'm not bothered about him, he can look after himself."

Batgirl sighed. "What is Cadmus?"

"A company." Batman replied.

"Why don't you trust us Bruce?" She insisted.

"I don't trust anyone, don't take it personally."

"So all these years you've never trusted us, all the battles we fought together all the times we've saved each others lives; it meant nothing?"

Batman sighed. "Cadmus is a scientific research centre funded by a woman called Amanda Waller. According to the bat computer she doesn't exist."

"So you know nothing about her?"

"No." Batman said bluntly not really wanting to admit it. "Cadmus specializes in genetics, DNA splicing and cloning. They have several projects going at the moment. Project Spark of Life, Project SM.2, Project Doomsday and Project New Gotham."

"New Gotham?" Barbara questioned.

"I don't know what it is, I've searched for days and I can't find anything. I don't know what they're planning Barbara." Batman said with the faintest sound of worry in his voice.

"But are they the good guys?"

"Their intentions seem good as well as the projects, but that can all be a point of view."

"What about Project Doomsday?"

"I couldn't get much on that one, something about a weapon to stop Superman if he ever got out of control or turned evil."

"Think they have a weapon to stop you?" Barbara asked joking.

"I think its New Gotham; I'm the most dangerous superhero out of all of them."

"How did you work that one out?"

"Because Amanda Waller told me so."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this has taken a while to be posted, i don't know why i bother saying the next chapter will be up soon because something always happens. Anyway, what do u think so far, good or not? The wheel of events has been put in motion and the whole of Earth will be rocked by the upcoming events. Think of it as the oncoming storm.


	3. One Day Till Halloween

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

Batman's search had proved useless, no one knew where Scarecrow was, what his plan was or anything about Joker being involved. Gordon was still going over Crane's files and cross checking everything over and over again in case he'd missed anything. The Fear Toxin had finally left Maybury's system although he didn't feel much different, still jumping at his own shadow.

2_**4**_ Hours 'till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

"Don't worry." Gordon said whilst still reading the files. "We've all been there, at one point we've all been attacked by his Toxin. You'll be fine by tomorrow."

"If there is a tomorrow." Maybury said. "It's eleven o'clock; we have twenty four hours until Gotham is attacked."

Gordon sighed; he got up out of his seat and walked to his office door. "Bullock, Sawyer, Davis; you found anything yet?"

Sawyer looked up from her desk. "Nothing, Davis has gone down to Archives and Bullock said he's going to "squeeze information" out of some punks."

"Keep me posted Detective." Gordon sat back down in his seat and cross checked everything once more.

Maybury held his head in his hands and breathed deeply then stood up at the bolt of light. "We need to start from the beginning." He said.

"Define beginning." Gordon said disheartened.

"We know that Crane…or Scarecrow as he said, planted the Fear Toxin in powder form in his mattress. We also know that Crane is suffering from DID, Dissocative Identity Disorder. So his Scarecrow persona planted the Toxin in an attempt to make himself stronger, perhaps."

"Joker attacked Crane with his Laughing Gas which had mixed with his Fear Toxin to create this Substance X in his bloodstream."

"So that's what we're calling it?" Maybury asked.

Gordon nodded. "Batman told me that it was eating Crane's organs and cells but then replacing them with something else. So Crane threatens Gotham into fearing him under Scarecrows "command" and says we have until Halloween to stop him. He always followed a theme whenever he attacked."

"What do you mean?"

"He would hide in abandoned places like the waxworks or haunted house, but they've all been knocked down now. Where is he?"

"Somewhere scary, what's scary in Gotham?"

"Lots of places, why do you think it's filled with these psychos?" Gordon sighed.

"But…not everyone is afraid of the same thing." Maybury said having an idea.

"What if he's somewhere that he fears, somewhere he thinks is scary."

_ACROSS GOTHAM _

Nightwing glided across the cityscape looking down at the people of Gotham and the lights that lit the city up at night. He landed on a near by rooftop and listened out for a scream of help, but all was quiet; for once.

But then he spotted something in the distance, a man in a black suit watching him with binoculars.

"What the, I'm not having this." Nightwing fired his grappling hook across to the building and he zipped across like on a zip line.

The man in the suit began to run away.

"Get back here!" He shouted but knew he wouldn't stop.

Nightwing chased him over the roof; the man began to climb down the fire escape on the side of the building. Nightwing followed suit and at the last moment jumped on the man.

"Who are you?!" Nightwing shouted.

The man said nothing.

"I know about Cadmus, why are you following us?!"

"Because it's my job." He grunted.

"What are you waiting for? For us to slip up?!"

"We're waiting for you to fail, and when you do Cadmus will move in."

"Move in? What are you on about?"

"You don't know anything do you?" The man in the suit caught Nightwing off guard and kicked him in the stomach. "Cadmus isn't just in Gotham, we're everywhere in America. Where ever there is a so called hero protecting the city we are there waiting."

"Waiting for what?!" Nightwing asked growing more frustrated.

"For Cadmus to take over."

The loud crack of a bullet being fired made Nightwing dive for cover; however he soon realised that he hadn't been hit. As he peered around the bins he saw that the man in the suit was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"What the hell is this?" Nightwing muttered confused.

_THE BAT CAVE_

"Think Barbara, where could he be?" Bruce said pacing up and down impatiently.

"I don't know Bruce, and before you ask again I still don't know!" She groaned.

"Do you think Thorne would know?" Tim asked. "Rupert Thorne."

Bruce pulled his Batman mask over his face again as he headed towards the Bat mobile.

"You're not actually going are you?!" Barbara exclaimed. "Thorne will be sounded by his men now that Freeze has escaped, plus they'll be heavily armed."

"That's why Tim's staying here." He said.

"What, I'm coming with you; I can handle them." He exclaimed.

Batman stared at Tim. "I can handle being shot, you can't."

"Barbara!" Nightwing's voice called out over the radio on the bat computer.

"I'm here, what is it?" She asked.

"Where's Bruce?"

"Gone to find Thorne, why?"

"It's Cadmus."

"I know about them Dick, It's,"

He cut her off. "No this is serious, they are dangerous."

"How so?"

"Because I think one of their agents was just murdered for telling me too much about them. He said that Cadmus was going to take over Gotham and every other city in America that has heroes."

"But they can't, The Justice League is watching over Earth and the Government has said that,"

"Either it was all lies or Cadmus are way more powerful than we think, I have to tell Bruce. You said he was going to find Thorne?"

"Yeah, but I don't know where he'll be."

"I do; his club."

"Are you sure?" Barbara questioned. "You do know Freeze will be looking for him."

"Trust me, his club is the most secure place he owns, the security is huge."

"It can't be that bad." Tim said butting in.

"He left you behind?" Nightwing questioned.

"Yeah."

"Then it's bad, Nightwing over and out."

_RUPERT THORNE'S NIGHT CLUB_

Thorne sat in the VIP corner of his club on the upper levels, music blaring out of the speakers and several guards surrounding him. More were posted outside of the club and several more were on the ground floor, they were all armed with guns.

The multi coloured lights that were constantly changing couldn't hide the look of anxiousness on his face; he knew that it was only a matter of time before Freeze would find him and kill him. It was a moment of madness he told himself. "I didn't mean to kill that psycho's wife." He would say to himself over again.

The sound of shattering glass and gunfire made him jump in fear.

"Oh god he's here." He said to himself.

But the figure walking up the stares whilst beating his thugs was not Freeze, it was Batman. Thorne didn't know whether to be relieved or more scared. The music still blasted through the speakers and the lights changed from red to blue and green to yellow whilst Batman fought off the thugs and flipped them over the railings.

One thug ran up to Batman and went to fire his gun but received a punch to the face instead, have his arm twisted back and thrown on to several other thugs.

"Let him through!" Thorne yelled over the music.

Batman walked up to the mob boss and grabbed him by the collar.

"Whatever you want Batman," Thorne said quickly. "I'll give it to you for a price."

"Where's Crane?!" He shouted.

"Who, wait you mean Scarecrow; I might know where but you have to do me a favour."

Batman threw Thorne over the railing and on to the dance floor below. Several thugs went to attack Batman but were quickly dispatched. The dancers below helped Thorne to his feet but quickly moved back when Batman jumped down. Most of them looked high on drugs or drink, which would explain why they hadn't run away.

"Where's Crane!" Batman shouted in anger.

"Hey get the hell out of here!" One of the members of the crowd shouted at Batman, others began to join in.

"Glass him!" One member shouted and ran at him but Batman simply head butted him then returned his focus on Thorne.

"Last chance, where is Crane?!"

"Please, you have to protect me if I tell you, not from Crane but Freeze; I know he's going to come after me. You protect me or I'll get my men to gun you down right here right now,"

Batman picked the mob boss up and threw him into the bar; the bartender ducked out of the way and scampered off. "I've had three days without sleep Rupert; I'm not in a good mood. So don't make me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry." He said threateningly.

Thorne coughed and spluttered in pain. "Ok, ok, the last I heard of Crane was that he was at the farm."

"What farm, there aren't any in Gotham?"

"No, The Farm, the factory."

Just then gun fire could be heard, Batman spun round and saw a figure beating up the rest of Thorne's thugs, he squinted to see who it was; Nightwing. Nightwing jumped down to the ground floor and walked over to the bar.

"We need to talk."

"Not now."

"It's about Cadmus."

"We have to stop Crane first." Batman fired his grappling gun at the huge window above them, the glass began to shatter and now everyone began to run for the exits. Nightwing followed suit and the two of them flew out of the club leaving Thorne on the floor.

"Crane's at The Farm, the factory; they build various things like fencing, huts, sheds. Anything a farmer would need, but most importantly they sell Scarecrows as of two weeks ago. The same day Scarecrow escaped from Arkham."

"You think he brought them out then,"

"No, someone already brought it and planned it; someone whose been planning this all along, his boss. Joker."

_GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT_

"Ok I've got something!" Bullock said walking into Gordon's office.

"What is it?"

"Crane's at the abandoned fair ground, got a punk to tell me; after a while."

"I don't think so," Sawyer said. "I've done a lot of cross checking and searching but the only place I found that he would hide in Gotham would be The Farm, the factory. They make anything that farmers use, including Scarecrow's as of two weeks ago, the exact same day Crane escaped Arkham."

"That sounds like where he would hide." Gordon said.

"Are you telling me I wasted a perfectly good bullet on that street punk?!" Bullock shouted.

"You shot him?!" Maybury exclaimed.

"Only in the leg."

"Where's Detective Davis?!" Gordon shouted across the headquarters.

"I'm here Commissioner." He called back. "Been in the archive room and pulled up anything that even had Crane mentioned and look what I found.

Davis handed over a file to Gordon and pointed at the line of text he wanted him to read. "Crane states that his fear is of Scarecrow's, he dresses like one to share his fear with everyone else."

"How considerate of him." Bullock said.

"Alright, everyone move out to The Farm." Gordon ordered.

The four cops and Maybury ran to their police cars.

"Bullock, Davis, Sawyer; you go in Bullocks car, me and Maybury will go in mine."

They all got in and sped off towards The Farm.

"You sure you're alright doing this?" Gordon asked Maybury.

"Yeah, The Fear Toxin has left my system; what ever I see or feel now is just a figment of my imagination. Shouldn't we contact Batman?"

"This lead could be fake; we don't know that Crane's there for sure, however if he is then we'll probably meet Batman there."

"When we find Crane what are we going to do?"

"Well," Gordon began. "We find out what his plan is, stop it and then try to help him."

"So we'll try to find a cure for the man that is trying to kill us all?"

"I know it feels like we should leave him, let him die but that's when you become no better then these villains, that's what separates us from them. That's why we're the good guys."

2_**1** _Hours 'till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

_THE BAT CAVE_

Tim sat in a chair in the Bat cave looking glum.

"Don't take it personally Tim." Barbara said. "Bruce only wants to protect you."

"Feels like he's holding me back." Tim mumbled in frustration.

"You're only sixteen; he doesn't want you to ruin your life before you've even started it."

"This is all I'm going to do, there's no way I'm going to be able to work in an office now; I'm going to be Robin for the rest of my life, well maybe I'll get a different name like Dick got Nightwing but I'll be fighting crime for ever."

Barbara sighed. "I've heard that before, that's exactly what Dick used to say; now look at him, look at Bruce. They don't want to do this, they both hate it."

"Then why carry on?"

"Because they have no choice, if they stopped the villains would take over and cause all kinds of chaos throughout Gotham, this…job is not fun Tim. Its life threatening, it rules over your life and it changes you forever."

"Is that how you feel?"

"Sometimes, but I'm like you, I wouldn't know what to do, I'd probably join the police force if anything."

"You couldn't ditch us, you're the brain behind this; sure Bruce is extremely clever but even the worlds greatest detective needs a partner, a voice in his ear. I see you as some kind of Oracle."

Barbara shivered.

"You ok?"

"Um, yeah I'm fine. Just got a cold shiver down my spine when you said that, that's all." Barbara looked at the clock on the computer, it read 02:01.

"It's two in the morning Tim, you should get some sleep; you're a growing teenager, you need all the sleep you can get."

"What about you?" Tim asked.

"I'm twenty four; I've done all the teenage sleeping I'll ever need to do."

"Night then." Tim said heading back to the mansion and to his room. "Night Alfred." He said passing the butler on the stairs to the entrance of the Bat cave.

"Good night Master Drake."

Alfred walked up to Barbara who was now slumped down in to her chair. "You should take your own advice Miss Barbara."

"Don't call me that," She laughed. "Makes me feel old you know I don't like it."

Alfred smiled. "Very well Barbara. I was listening to you and Master Tim's conversation."

"Oh yeah?"

"You see it as well?"

"I can see Bruce becoming more obsessed with it, lately though it feels like one string of events after another, I haven't been out of this cave for days; all I've been doing is looking at that dam Substance X, Bruce hasn't slept in days, Dick still feels like he's not being listened to which in fairness he kind of isn't. Bruce still feels betrayed after Dick left as Robin and Tim," She sighed. "Tim is just a child."

"He looks up to you, you know."

"Really?"

"As a butler you notice all sorts of things, like when people change, when they become more grown up, they sacrifice things for the greater good. Also you notice things like who steals other people's food from the fridge."

Barbara laughed.

"You also see how four separate people who are all different but fight for the safety of Gotham and become like a family. Tim looks up to you like a son would to his mother, Dick looks up to Bruce like a father whether he wants to admit it or not, and I've seen the way you look at Bruce; you could be the only one who could save him from Batman. I think a hero; a Dark Knight needs someone to save him from himself."

_IN THE BATMOBILE_

"Please trust me on this one Bruce." Nightwing pleaded.

Batman sighed. "Ok, I trust you. But first we have to stop Scarecrow, then Joker."

"Are you sure Joker's behind this?"

"Trust me." Batman said. "I've fought that maniac for years, I know how he works and this has got Joker written all over it."

The Bat mobile screeched to a halt outside The Farm factory. The two heroes got out only to see two police cars heading towards them.

Gordon got out. "So you figured it out as well."

"This has to be it, there's no other place in Gotham." Batman said.

"This place is huge." Maybury said. "So Crane has been hiding right under our noses."

"Frustrating isn't it." Gordon said.

Batman, Nightwing, Gordon, Maybury, Bullock, Sawyer and Davis walked through the factory doors, everything was covered in darkness and the faint sound of creaking machinery could be heard.

"Split up." Batman said walking off into the darkness with Nightwing following.

"Me and Maybury will go this way." Gordon said pointing to the right. "You three go that way." He finished whilst pointing to the left. "Keep in contact."

Batman and Nightwing walked carefully around the factory.

"How can you see anything?" Nightwing asked.

Batman tapped his cowl.

"Figures, you have night vision." He tutted.

A thud echoed throughout the factory, Batman spun round. But no one was there, not even Nightwing.

"Nightwing, where are you?"

No one replied.

"Nightwing!" Batman shouted out.

"All alone little bat?" A distorted voice said.

"What?"

"All alone in a haunted factory."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Who is this, Crane or Scarecrow?"

"So you figured it out."

"Not hard, once you put all the pieces together it's obvious. You're suffering from Spilt Personality."

"Ha! Ha! You make it sound like an illness, but I'm stronger than ever; Scarecrow and Crane have teamed up to destroy Gotham once and for all."

"You know you're dying." Batman said wandering around knowing that he was under the influence of the Fear Toxin.

"I'm not dying, at first I thought I was; but after a while I realized what was happening. I was getting stronger; I could now talk to Crane, appear in front of him and tell him what to do."

"What's your plan?"

"I've already said; I'm going to give Gotham the Fright of its Life." Scarecrow laughed. "However if I was you I'd be more worried about myself, In case you hadn't figured it out yet, all of you have been inhaling my Fear Toxin since you came in. It's odourless and invisible but what I'm really proud of is the fact that this Toxin will peal back the layers of your mind. It won't kill you out of fear like my previous ones; this will break you down piece by piece."

Batman heard the crack of thunder and for a second the room lit up only to reveal more darkness. Then rain began to fall and drip down his cowl. Batman opened his eyes to find himself in an ally, he knew where he was; it was the same nightmare that had haunted him since childhood and every time he was hit with fear toxin.

"Not again." Batman whispered.

"Did you enjoy the movie Bruce?" A voice said.

Batman looked up and saw his Father with his Mother and himself as a child.

"Come on, we should be going home." Thomas Wayne said.

"We should call a taxi, it's getting late." Martha Wayne pointed out.

"We can go down this ally it will lead us to the taxi rank, come on; it'll be quicker." Thomas said.

"No! Don't go!" Batman shouted out, he ran towards them but froze when he saw a figure walk out of the shadows.

"No don't kill them, please!"

"Oh but that's no fun at all." The man in the shadow said, his voice was familiar.

"No."

The light shone on the man to revel a blood red smile and white skin. Then there was that all too familiar laugh.

"What's up Batsy, did I frighten you?" Joker asked sadistically.

"This isn't real." Batman told himself.

"Maybe not," Scarecrow said. "But it going to feel like it."

Joker aimed his gun at Thomas and Martha Wayne but Batman threw a batarang at the gun and disarmed Joker. He leapt at the mad man and knocked him to the ground.

"So Batsy, what's it gunna be?!" Joker laughed.

Batman went to punch Joker but felt a hand on his shoulder. "Stop now, you've beaten him."

He looked round to see Thomas looking down at him and his Mother smiling as if this was the first time she'd ever seen him.

"Mom, Dad." The all hugged each other as if never wanting to let go.

"It's ok now son, it's over." Thomas said proudly.

"We're so proud of you Bruce," Martha began. "We've always been proud of you; you've saved Gotham so many times and never asked for any thanks."

"You are a true hero son." Thomas said smiling.

"I missed you so much." Batman went to take his mask off but it was as if it was stuck. "What's happening, it won't come off?"

"You've been Batman for so long." Martha said.

"You've forgotten how to be Bruce Wayne." Thomas finished.

"I don't want to be Batman anymore, we can save the city, all of us can without wearing masks."

"Then you have to let go of him, let Batman go." Martha said holding his hand.

"Tell Batman that he's done well, tell him he needs to rest now; he deserves it." Thomas told him.

Bruce closed his eyes, when he opened them again he saw himself in normal clothes looking at Batman.

"It's over now." Bruce said.

"It's never over." Batman said gruffly. "Gotham needs to be saved."

"It will be, by me, my Mother and my Father."

"What about the psychopaths, do you think they will stop because Batman is no more?"

Bruce sighed. "The Justice League looks over Earth, they have,"

"But what about Gotham?!" Batman shouted. "Gotham has the worst that this planet has to offer."

"Can't you see? All the madmen came out to play when the freak released them." A flash of Joker's face laughing shot through Bruce's mind.

"Fight it Bruce," Batman said. "You know this isn't real, this is the Fear Toxin. Crane's changed the formula of it, if you don't fight it now then,"

"No!" Bruce shouted. "This is real, my Mother and Father are alive."

"They're dead!" Batman shouted back in anger.

"They're alive!"

"They were murdered!"

"You killed them!" Bruce shouted, as he said this Batman stepped back into the shadows as if being absorbed by them.

Thomas and Martha walked out of the darkness and smiled at their son.

"You did the right thing," Martha said comforting him. "Batman was so desperate to protect the city he would sacrifice himself to do it, we need to show that you can save the day and still have a normal life."

Bruce blinked and the next thing he knew he was inside Wayne Manor, it felt like years has passed by but at the same time it felt like it had been only seconds. He looking out of a window at the magnificent garden they had. Martha walked up beside him.

"It's been three years, but we've finally done it; we've finally cleaned up Gotham."

Thomas then seemed to appear from nowhere. "All of the villains have been put back in Arkham and given the help they so desperately need, thanks to the help of Cadmus."

A pain shot through Bruce's head as well as a flicker of images. "Urg!" He grunted.

"Are you ok son?" Thomas asked.

"Just a headache Dad, I'll be fine."

"Have a seat."

"It's all the hard work," Martha reassured. "You've worked so hard to save this city, ever since you were a small boy you always wanted to help."

Another image flashed through Bruce's head, this time it was a gunshot and his Mother and Father falling to the ground.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Thomas asked. "Perhaps I should call our Doctor; Maybury will be able to sort it out."

"What did you say?" Bruce asked.

"I said our Doctor will sort it out."

"What's his name?"

"Maybury, Doctor Tim Maybury."

"I know that name." Bruce said holding his head.

"Of course you do, he's our family Doctor." Martha said.

"No! I know his name from somewhere else. Arg! It hurts to remember."

"Then don't." Martha said her voice becoming distorted for a moment.

"Yes, just relax." Thomas said, his voice becoming distorted as well.

Martha pushed Bruce down who was now in bed. "Forget all you troubles, just close your eyes and rest…rest forever."

"NO!" A voice shouted.

Bruce looked up and saw Batman in the doorway. "You have to fight the Toxin, it's closing down your nervous system, if you go to sleep then you die," Batman was cut off; he looked down and saw a metal pipe sticking through his chest. Blood dripped down his suit and he fell to the floor with a thud.

Scarecrow stood behind him. "Trying to spoil the fun? Tut, tut; we can't have that can we?"

**1**_9_Hours till _**H**A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_


	4. Nineteen Hours Till Halloween

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

**1**_9 _Hours till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

Scarecrow stood in the doorway with Batman's blood dripping off him. "You're going to be staying here Mr. Wayne, for a very long time."

Bruce tried to move but it felt like he had been nailed down to the bed.

"Do you like my new Toxin; it's the best I've ever created." Scarecrow walked over to Bruce and whispered in his ear. "Right now you're on the floor still in the facility, I'm kneeling right next to you, everyone else is having there own nightmare. Nightwing is screaming for his parents, Gordon is begging that his family isn't about to be killed and Maybury; well, I don't even know if he's still alive. But you, you haven't said a word the whole time. You're just lying on the floor silent and still, this is a prime opportunity to take a look under your mask."

Scarecrow reached for Bruce's face but stopped, he spun round. "Why can't I?!" He shouted. "Well this is the new plan."

It was as if Scarecrow was having a conversation with someone else, Bruce strained to hear the other voice but only got several words, not enough to make a full sentence. But one word he heard clearly…Cadmus.

"What have Cadmus go to do with this?" Bruce thought.

Scarecrow turned back round to Bruce. "The countdown is ticking little bat, can you escape this hellish nightmare or will you give up and let Gotham drown in its own screams, you have nineteen hours left, plenty of time for the Dark Knight!" He spat.

Scarecrow turned into several insects and scuttled away. Bruce closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, deep within the recesses of his mind he saw a figure chained up and a small boy next to him.

Bruce walked closer to the two people and saw that Batman was the one in chains and a young Bruce was the boy.

"You can't go, you can't leave me." Young Bruce pleaded.

"I have to."

"I'm scared and I'm all alone, please don't go."

Bruce sighed; he looked up at Batman who was still chained up. "I know you miss Mom and Dad, I do as well. But the hurt goes away from time to time; sometimes you forget that you don't have a Mother or Father. Sometimes the hurt goes away."

Batman groaned and rattled the chains he was in as if he'd just woken up. "We don't have much time, we have to stop Scarecrow! He could be halfway across the city by now."

Young Bruce looked up at Batman with a fearful look on his face. "I don't want to be like him, he's scary."

"We have to go now!" Batman shouted again.

"Don't worry," Bruce said comforting his younger self. "He's not as scary as he looks, because I'm in control of him; always."

"Go on then," Young Bruce sniffed. "Save the city."

Batman jolted upwards off the factory floor, he breathed heavily and looked around. "Barbara, you there?"

"Bruce!" She exclaimed. "Are you ok, I've been trying to reach you for hours but you wouldn't respond?"

"I'm fine now, how long have we got? Daylight is starting to come through the windows here."

"Sixteen hours."

**1**_6 _Hours till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

THE BAT CAVE

"Everyone else is fine," Bruce said. "They managed to fight the Fear Toxin."

"What are you talking about?" Dick said frustrated. "Davis was crying in a corner, what ever he saw nearly drove him mad. Maybury looked like he was about to commit suicide and Gordon couldn't stop shaking."

Bruce sighed. "I'm sorry, are you ok Dick?"

"I'll be fine, thank you."

"What did you see?" Tim asked Dick.

"Tim!" Barbara snapped.

"It's alright, I saw my worst nightmare and I was nearly mentally destroyed, those images will stay with me for the rest of my life."

"So be glad Bruce didn't take you." Barbara said to Tim.

Bruce walked over to the Bat computer and began typing something in.

"What are you looking up?" Dick asked.

"I heard someone talking to Scarecrow about Cadmus, you were right Dick I think they're involved somehow."

"What was that?" Dick asked. "I was right?"

"Don't push it." Bruce warned him. "Scarecrow forgot one thing."

"What was that?" Barbara asked.

"The factory would have had security cameras which means I should be able to see who Scarecrow was talking to."

"Why are you calling him Scarecrow now?" Tim asked. "You always call him Crane."

"Because Crane and Scarecrow are now two separate people, he's developed a Jekyll and Hyde demeanour."

"That's the technical term then Bruce?" Barbara laughed.

Bruce slightly smiled. "It's in terms so Tim would understand, I heard that you have a test soon about Jekyll and Hyde; I hope you've been doing your homework."

"How do you know these things?" Tim exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm the world's greatest detective, plus I look through your school bag to check whether you have homework or report cards."

"So am I going into school today?" Tim asked.

"Yes." Bruce said bluntly.

"What, why?!"

It's not up for debate, you're going to school." Bruce ordered. "I'm in, I've hacked their security system."

Bruce typed in several other commands then the security feed came up, he rewound it then played it. Scarecrow was next to Batman on the floor tormenting him, Bruce remembered this all to well.

"Hasn't it got sound?" Tim asked.

"No, and get ready for school!"

"Fine." Tim murmured.

"Your cowl has sound, I was trying to get through to you the whole time," Barbara remembered. "I heard voices but they were quiet."

"Everything that's said on my in suit radio is recorded on to the Bat computer, I can play it back and then try to decipher what was said, good thinking Barbara."

"You really do think of everything don't you?" Dick said.

"Yep, here's the file; now I just need to find the right place."

Several minuets were spent trying to find the right place, rewinding and fast forwarding; eventually it was found.

"Ok this is it."

"_You're just lying on the floor silent and still, this is a prime opportunity to take a look under your mask."_

The other voice could be heard but only as a mumble, Bruce typed something into the computer and played it again.

"_You're just lying on the floor silent and still, this is a prime opportunity to take a look under your mask."_

"_Don't unmask him yet!" _The voice said.

_"Why can't I?!"_

"_Because you'll spoil the fun, and the plan I've been working on for several years!"_

"_Well this is the new plan." _

"_If you spoil this plan Scarecrow I will personally stuff you full of hay and hang you outside my hideout for all to see, I've waited years for this and Cadmus to coincide and I won't have some lanky straw freak punk mess it up for me! Understand?" _The voice shouted threateningly.

"_The countdown is ticking little bat, can you escape this hellish nightmare or will you give up and let Gotham drown in its own screams, you have nineteen hours left, plenty of time for the Dark Knight!"_

Bruce paused it; everyone knew who that voice belonged to.

"Joker." He said solemnly.

"So we now know that he's involved, for sure." Dick said.

"Joker said he's waited years for this and Cadmus to coincide, what does he mean?" Barbara asked.

"I don't know, Cadmus have a facility here in Gotham. Dick I need you to break in and find out as much as you can about them, without being caught."

"Understand."

"Barbara, I need you to watch over Gotham on the computer. If you see anything that looks like Scarecrow then tell me, I'm going to Gordon to tell him what we know."

**1**_4 _Hours till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

COMMISSIONER GORDONS OFFICE

Gordon paced round his office taking in what Batman had just said. "If Joker's involved then this is serious, especially as he's said that he's been planning this for years."

"He's going to be getting ready to attack Gotham now." Batman said. "He's got nowhere else to hide."

"We still don't know what he's planning." Maybury piped up.

Batman looked at him and saw that he was still pale and slightly shaking. "You should get some rest."

"I can't sleep, every time I close my eyes I see…" He sighed. "I'll be fine; we have to stop Scarecrow first."

"We still don't know how he's going to attack Gotham for god's sake." Gordon said.

"Do you think he'll use his Fear Toxin on Gotham?" Maybury asked.

"Yes, I'm not sure how he'll disperse it but he's going to use it." Batman said.

"It doesn't sound like a plan that a criminal genius would use." Maybury pointed out to Batman. "It's just gas the city with Fear Toxin on Halloween day."

Gordon looked at Batman. "He's got a point, Scarecrows a distraction; Jokers the real threat along with this Cadmus."

"We still have to stop him, whether he's the main threat or not." Batman said.

ACROSS GOTHAM

Scarecrow stood in an ally hiding behind several bins; rain fell on his mask and dripped down his costume.

"Forced to hide in ally like a common thug, all thanks to Batman finding my factory." Scarecrow kicked a bin in frustration. "He was too early, everything has to run like clockwork otherwise the plan will be ruined."

"I don't know about this." Crane said panicking.

"We've been over this!" Scarecrow snapped. "We have to do this otherwise no one will fear us."

"But the Toxin will kill people, hundreds; and the others will be,"

"Do you want to be made fun of again Crane?!" Scarecrow shouted. "This is why no one fears you, because you're weak, you're a weak pathetic man who is afraid to sacrifice a few lives for the greater good. The greater good being us!"

"Maybe we could weaken the dose slightly or,"

"No!" Scarecrow roared. "This is a war Crane! This is the beginning of a war and we can not back down now!"

"War, what are you talking about; I thought this was only about making people fear us?"

"You idiot Crane, I'm tired of lying to you now. We are fighting to make people fear us but we are also the start of something huge, you know Joker's plan yes?" He asked.

"Yes." Crane replied.

"We are the solider; we are the first step of his warfare."

However, Crane still didn't understand.

"Arrrrggg!" Scarecrow shouted, really growing frustrated now. "It was a mistake blocking it from your mind, close your eyes Crane. There, can you see it now? Can you see Joker's masterful plan?"

Crane went pale; he felt his heart skip a beat. "You can't do that, he's insane; he doesn't know what he's doing! I won't be a part of it!"

"Hahahaha! Too late Crane, we've already done the damage. We've paved the way to a new Gotham, a new world; of chaos."

CADMUS FACILITY

An air vent cover crashed to floor in a dimly lit room and Nightwing jumped down.

"Just like the movies." He whispered to himself.

He looked around the room he was in, coats were hung up and several body suits were in small air tight containment boxes.

"I think I'm in the coat room, great."

He walked to the door and went to open it but the handle began to move, Nightwing ran behind a locker in the nick of time before two people walked inside. He waited until they walked around the corner and snuck out of the room and into a large hall.

There were no signs or arrows and everything about this place felt, sterile. Once again Nightwing heard footsteps and saw the door across from him opening. A man walked out and Nightwing grabbed him whilst covering his mouth.

"Where is the archive room?" He asked.

The man shook his head.

"Last chance, where is the archive room?" Nightwing said more threateningly.

The man sighed and pointed to his right up the hall. Nightwing smiled and head butted the man which knocked him unconscious. He searched his pockets and found an ID card; this card would definitely come in handy.

Nightwing walked up the hall and the first door he came across read archive. "How about that; he was telling the truth."

As he opened the door two men in white coats spun round, Nightwing quickly threw two batarangs which knocked them both unconscious. He walked up to a large computer that was in the middle of the room and started typing away. Soon enough a red box popped up saying something about proof of identity and to scan an ID card. He looked next to the computer and found a small black box to which he scanned the card he had stolen earlier.

"Welcome Doctor Bourne" The computer read. "Level five access granted"

Nightwing looked a several folders for a while, most of them were computer coded but one caught his eye. Project New Gotham. He clicked on it and began to read the file.

"Project New Gotham has been green lit by the Cadmus Board Members. The core plan still remains the same apart from a few minor changes. Cadmus troops will be deployed throughout Gotham to apprehend all of the city's villains where they will be put on trial for their crimes and either sent to our detention camps or executed. The heroes of Gotham will be rounded up as well where we will decide their fate; any resistance will not be tolerated and immediate action will be taken. All our facilities are green lit and are waiting the command from our main facility in Metropolis."

"This can't be real." Nightwing said to himself.

"It's very real." A voice said.

He spun round and saw a large black woman standing behind him; she was wearing a purple suit and had a stern look on her face.

"My name is Amanda Waller, and you must be Nightwing."

"You can't do this; you can't just pull the heroes and villains off the streets. You'll start a war; neither of us will go peacefully."

"I can do this." She said. "I have the power too, all I need is a good reason and I press the red button."

"What do you mean a good reason?" Nightwing asked confused.

"If Gotham or anywhere else in the world is threatened by a "villain" then we are allowed to proceed one state at a time."

"One state at a time, not all presidents have given their permission have they?"

Amanda sighed. "It seems that not everyone shares my plan with the same amount of enthusiasm as I do,"

"Wait a minute," Nightwing thought out loud. "What about the Justice League? They were given permission by the government to protect earth, contracts were signed and Superman made deals with,"

"Things change, time's change; over time people are seen in a different light. You of all people should know that, Mr. Grayson."

"What?!"

"I know who you are, all of you; and it's only a matter of time before I find out who everyone else is." She hissed.

"Why Gotham?"

"Because Gotham fascinated me, you all fascinated me. Especially Batman, I studied you all, out of every superhero I picked you four; the most reluctant of the lot. I want to find out why you all still dress up in costumes and call yourselves childish names. Could it be the tragedy in your lives, Batman, Robin and you losing your parents? What I wonder though is what will Batgirls tragedy be? To tell you the truth though I sort of know why you do it. It's the freaks. The dregs of this city, the lowest the world has to offer; Green Lantern may have Sinestro, Superman may have Lex Luthor but Batman," She smiled to herself. "What a colourful gallery of rouges, all Cadmus needs is a reason to go to war with Gotham and Scarecrow is giving us this reason. Batman has ten hours to save Gotham!"

**1**_0 _Hours till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

COMMISSIONER GORDON'S OFFICE

Once again Batman was on his in suit radio to Barbara. "Anything yet?" He asked.

"No, Gotham, for the first time ever, is a quiet as a grave."

Batman half smiled. "Was that a Halloween joke?"

"Maybe, it gets depressing in this cave; got to keep myself awake somehow."

"Keep your eye's peeled, anything whatsoever."

"Yes sir."

Batman walked back over to Gordon and Maybury who were standing at a giant map of Gotham they had pinned to the wall.

"It's impossible to tell where Scarecrows bomb would be." Gordon said.

"I don't suppose any places stand out to you?" Maybury asked Batman.

"No." He replied.

"At worst we could try to evacuate Gotham," Gordon began. "But that would cause mass panic and,"

"Wait." Batman interrupted. "Panic, what if Scarecrows bluffing? What if this whole time he's been lying; think back to the radio broadcast, he never said anything about a bomb just on Halloween night he'll give Gotham the fright of its life."

"And if we had evacuated everyone from their homes there would have been panic, so you're saying it's just a ruse?" Gordon asked.

"Scarecrow and Crane are two separate people; so to speak, his mind has been poisoned with what ever Joker injected into him."

"Batman's right." Maybury said. "From what I've seen his Crane persona and Scarecrow persona are just as strong as each other; his mind shouldn't be able to take it; plus in his current state he would be highly susceptible and violent."

"So what do we do then?" Gordon asked. "Do we wait it out, wait 'till eleven o'clock and hope for the best?"

Batman sighed. "No, we still need to find Scarecrows boss, Joker; he is still a threat."

"So where would Joker be then?" Gordon questioned. "He's been quiet since the breakout, not even a single robbery or murder."

Barbara's voice was heard over Batman's in suit radio again. "We have a problem, Scarecrow's on the radio again."

"What station?"

"All of them."

"Triangulate his position! Gordon turn the radio on now!"

Gordon did so and once again Scarecrows voice could be heard, but he sounded out of breath, like he was struggling; like he was hurting.

"I warned you all," He hissed. "I…I…told you to run, to get out of Gotham or, no I; nine hours left. Here's your chance, run…run from Gotham or I'll kill you all, I'll…no…yes! I'll turn you all insane. I have bombs full of Toxin planted around Gotham…in…err, Run now! Run now or I'll detonate at eleven o'clock tonight,"

"Ok I've found him." Barbara said.

"Where?"

"Gotham central radio tower…again."

"What?"

"I think he's confused, he doesn't know what he's doing." Barbara said.

"I'll be careful then." Batman replied. He turned to Gordon and Maybury. "He's at Gotham central radio tower."

"What?" Maybury said shocked.

"That doesn't make sense." Gordon added.

"I need you to hang back, let me go in there first, I may be able to reason with him." Batman said whilst opening the window.

"What if you can't stop him?" Maybury asked.

"I will." He replied bluntly.

GOTHAM CENTRAL RADIO STATION

Crane sat in the corner of the dark broadcasting room clutching his head in pain.

"What's happening to me?!" He cried out.

"You idiot stop fighting me!" Scarecrow yelled.

"You're psychopathic; I will not let you do this!" Crane yelled back.

"You can't fight me, I'm part of you…I AM YOU!"

"I don't want to kill millions, all I wanted was for people to fear me, show me respect."

"If you want that respect that you so truly desire then you'll have to sacrifice people along the way, little people, people that don't matter."

"But Joker's plan is wrong, he's sick."

Scarecrow groaned. "I've had it with you Crane! I've tried to be patient; I've tried to explain it to you. Now it's time for me to take over."

"What do you mean?"

Scarecrow laughed. "I'm taking over your mind, I've let you be the more dominant side until now, it's time for you to go to sleep Doctor, when you wake up again Gotham will be different and the citizens will fear us."

"No!" Crane shouted. "Don't do this!"

"Sleep," Scarecrow hissed. "Sleep now."

Just then Batman crashed through the doors of the broadcasting studio.

Scarecrow stood up and stared Batman in the eyes. "The good Doctor is out at the moment, but I'll be happy to see you."

"Crane?" Batman asked.

"No…only Scarecrow now."

"What did you do to him?"

Scarecrow laughed. "I tucked him away deep into my subconscious, at the minute he's hibernating, waiting to be woken up again. When he does Gotham will be a different place and people will finally fear us!"

"Is this all it's about, people being scared of you?"

"You have no idea what it's like to be pushed around!" Scarecrow snapped in his demonic voice.

"You're pathetic."

"ME! I'm not the one who dresses as a bat!"

Batman walked up to Scarecrow and towered over him. "No you dress as a Scarecrow instead, no wonder no one takes you seriously."

"P…people do fear me…I…They're petrified of me…or at least they will be!" He stuttered.

"What's wrong Crane? Starting to disbelieve your own cause?"

"I'm not Crane, I'm,"

Batman pushed him against the wall. "Come on then, fight back. Show me how terrifying you really are."

"Don't test me!" Scarecrow hissed.

He went to punch Batman who simply grabbed his arm and flung him over on to a table.

"Very scary." Batman mocked.

"Stop it!" Scarecrow yelled. "I will kill you, I will…I…" He stuttered and then all of a sudden went limp.

"Scarecrow?" Batman asked warily, after all this could be a trick.

But they was no response, he walked over to him and turned him over. Then Scarecrows eyes opened and his body shook with a jolt. He began to shake uncontrollably as if he was having a fit, spurting out blood from his mouth and random words.

Batman stood back shocked, he didn't know what to do or what was happening. A crunching sound filled the room, like bones being broken. Scarecrows arm shot up into the air and it began to grow with muscle, the rest of his body followed suit.

"Oh my god." Batman mumbled.

Bones pushed through Scarecrows skin and jutted out like huge spikes. His skin began to tear and muscle could be seen, his eyes turned red and his teeth grew in to a set of deadly ones. Only bits of his costume were still attached to him, his mask partially covered his face. Blood dripped down him were his skin had torn and bones stuck out. He was now truly a picture of fear.

"Scare…Scare!" He yelled, although he no longer looked like a man but more like a beast.

The beast jumped at Batman and they both went flying through the wall and landed on a building top. Gordon and Maybury looked up from below in shock.

"What the hell was that?" Maybury asked.

"I have no idea." Gordon replied.

"Stop this Crane!" Batman shouted trying to get free from the beasts grip.

"No…Scare!" The beast yelled, its voice was like one that belonged to a monster from your nightmares. The beast punched Batman's head into the ground and bounded off into the distance.

Batman pulled himself up, his ears ringing and the taste of blood in his mouth. He chased the beast over the rooftops wondering where he was going. Wondering how the hell this even happened. How did he turn into that monster? Then it hit him, the substance in Crane's blood stream.

"Barbara, are you there?" Batman said panting heavily.

"I'm here, what is it?"

"It's Crane, he's turned into a monster."

"What?"

"He's turned into some kind of giant beast."

"How?"

"It's the substance in his blood stream, what he was poisoned with. You said it was eating away at his cells but replacing them as well. This is what his new cells are capable with, turning him into a monster."

"There's no antidote though, I don't now how you can beat him. The only way would be to knock him unconscious I guess, oh and Bruce; you have six hours left."

_**6 **_Hours till _**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

CADMUS FACILITY

"Wake up!" A voice shouted.

Light came back to Nightwings world, slowly and painfully. "My head." He mumbled.

He looked round and saw several men positioned around an empty room and Amanda Waller in front of him.

"You didn't think we'd let you go?" She said smugly.

"Am I still in Cadmus?" He asked groggily.

"Yes, however you're underground, so to speak. The room you are in now is a torture room. This is where we get our answers, whether people want to give them up or not."

"You can't be serious."

"Deadly." She replied threateningly. "Like I said earlier we know who you are, but we only know certain things. We…I need to know the big picture, so you Mr. Grayson are going to tell everything."

"Like hell!" He jumped up of the floor but felt a large jolt of electric shoot into his back; he let out a scream of pain then fell to the floor again. Nightwing had failed to notice that two men with electrical batons stood behind him.

"Tell me the names of the Justice League members."

Nightwing groaned. "Well, there's Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman,"

Amanda took a baton off one of the men and hit Nightwing with it. "Their real names!"

Nightwing tried to laugh off the pain and simply raised two fingers at her.

"If that's how you want it to be."

THE BAT CAVE

"Nightwing can you hear me? Nightwing?!" Barbara said over the Bat computer.

"What's wrong?" Tim said walking up to the large computer.

"When did you get home?"

"Just now, I was kept behind for detention."

"Again!" Barbara exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does Tim, because it's me or Bruce who has to go up there."

"Where is Bruce anyway?"

Barbara sighed. "Fighting a monster, and I can't get hold of Nightwing. His comm. is down, like its being blocked."

A small screen popped up on the computer and it read "BREAKING NEWS" Barbara typed something in and the screen enlarged.

"This is amateur footage taken by a bystander; the images in this video are disturbing." The news reader said.

The video was shown and it consisted of Batman fighting the huge Scarecrow monster. The monster would fling him into several cars or into the side of a building.

"I've got to help him." Barbara said. "Tim I need you on the computer."

"But I can help."

"Please, just do what I say."

Tim sighed. "Ok."

"Thank you." Barbara ran of to get dressed into her Batgirl costume and just as quick as she left she came back.

"I'm taking the motorbike." She called out and sped off into Gotham.


	5. Five Hours Till Halloween

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

_**5**_Hours till_**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

Batman felt his back slam against a car; he heard the glass shatter and saw it land around him. He looked up to see a terrible beast looming over him, its bones were jutting out along with its muscles and bit's of its flesh had torn. It was Jonathan Crane, gone wrong.

"Stop this now!" Batman yelled out.

"Feeeaaarrrr!" The beast screamed back, its voice twisted and evil.

"Crane, listen to me!" Batman shouted back. "You have to stop this, innocent people will die if you don't stop this and millions more will if you don't tell me where the bomb is!"

"Sccccaaaaarrrrreee!" The beast jumped at Batman only to be dodged and end up crashing into a wall headfirst.

"This is ridiculous!" Batman thought. "What the hell did Joker inject him with? Crane's speed is enhanced along with his strength, his brain is overwhelmed though. I don't think he can even string a sentence together."

The beast ripped a street lamp out of the ground and swung it at Batman who side stepped it the first time but the second time he was struck.

Batman let out a grunt of pain but still got back up and punched the beast twice in the face, kicked him in the knee cap then in the side. However the beast took it all in his stride and grabbed the Dark Knight by his face and slammed him through a shop window. The shoppers ran out screaming whilst the beast walked in, one of the shoppers got cornered by the beast and was about to receive a deadly blow. However Batman threw a batarang at the back of the beasts head.

"Don't even think about it Crane."

The beast ran at Batman who fired his grappling hook into the air and then flying over his head kicked the beast hard. It crashed through the wall and landed with a thud on the other side.

Batman went to chase after the beast but heard a voice call him, it was Batgirl.

"What are you doing here?" Batman snapped.

"Here to help you out." She replied.

"I don't need help!" He shouted back over the roar of the beast that had picked up a phone box and threw it at the two of them. They rolled out of the way just in time.

"I told you to stay in the cave." Batman said.

"I saw you on TV, you need my help. We are running out of time as it is, we only have five hours left, probably even less now."

"Dammit!" Batman shouted out whilst firing his grappling hook towards the beast who narrowly dodged it. The hook connected to the wall behind him and Batman zipped along with great speed and punched him straight across the face.

Batgirl run up to the beast who was now laying dazed on the floor. "Where are the bombs?" She questioned.

The beast simply moaned, then stood bolt upright and went to punch her but received a kick in the gut and a punch across the face.

"Where are the bombs?!" She shouted.

"Answer her!" Batman shouted, appearing from nowhere and jumping on his back.

"SSSCCCAAARRREEE!" He yelled again.

"Where are the bombs?!" Batman yelled punching him in the head then stabbing him in the shoulder with his gauntlet.

The beast let out a terrifying scream.

"People will die Crane!" Batgirl shouted whilst high kicking him. "You don't want that to happen, we know you don't."

"Fight Scarecrow Crane, fight him!" Batman bellowed.

Inside the beasts mind something was happening, Crane was waking up, he had heard what Batman and Batgirl had said and he was fighting.

"I will not let you control me!" Crane shouted.

"I already am!" Scarecrow laughed back. "Ever since you first created me, ever since you first put that mask on I was born and have been controlling your actions since then."

"Then I'm putting an end to it now!"

"Ha-ha, you and whose army?"

"I don't need an army to stop you, this is my mind and I decide what happens here. You can't stop me and fight them two can you Scarecrow?"

"Don't test me." Scarecrow spat. "If I want to I can end you Crane, I no longer need you. I have become strong enough to take over your mind."

The beast began to stagger backwards and forwards and held his head in pain.

"What happening?" Batgirl asked.

"I think Crane is beginning to fight." Batman answered. "Come on fight it!"

The beast yelped like an animal and punched the walls.

"You can do it Crane!" Batgirl shouted.

"Fight Scarecrow," Batman followed up. "Beat him!"

The beast screamed one more time and slowly began to change back to Crane, the bones retracted back into his body and his muscles shrunk back into his flesh. He would need stitches to sow up the torn flesh. Batman and Batgirl ran over to his side.

"I did it." Crane wheezed.

"Where are the bombs?" Batman asked bluntly.

"Up." He said weakly.

"What?" Batgirl asked.

"In the sky…in the blimps, six of them in the sky."

Batman ran outside and looked up in the sky. "There." He said pointing them out to Batgirl.

"Who's on the computer?" Batman asked Batgirl.

"Robin."

"Robin are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here, what do you need?" He said with the sound of boredom in his voice.

"Ready the Batwing, I'm coming back to the cave now!"

"Take the motorcycle." Batgirl said. "I'll deal with Crane."

Batman headed towards the motorcycle only to hear Batgirl call out. "How are you going to disarm all six bombs in time?"

"I'll think of something." He said whilst speeding off towards the bat cave.

THE BAT CAVE

Batman arrived with great speed; he jumped off the bike and ran up to the Batwing.

"What's going on?" Tim asked.

"I don't have time to explain." Batman snapped. "Has there been any word from Dick?"

"No not at the moment but,"

"Keep trying." He ordered.

Batman climbed up a ladder and into the Batwing. "I need you to be ready just in case Tim, give me your word that you won't question my authority."

"Why, what are you planning?"

"Just give me your word!"

"Ok, fine, yes."

The cockpit shut and the engines to the Batwing began to rumble. A blue flame shot out of the back and it flew off down the long winding tunnel that had been designed especially for the Batwing.

Batman looked at the digital clock.

"Great." He thought. "Two hours left."

_**2**_Hours till_**H**__A__L_**L**_O_**W**EE_**N**_

CADMUS FACILITY

Nightwing woke up with a jolt; ice cold water had been thrown on him.

"Time to try again Mr. Grayson," Amada said standing over him. "It seems you passed out after our last session."

"You won't get anything out of me." Nightwing spluttered.

"Oh, we will," Amanda nodded to the two guards next to her who held Nightwing down. "Instead of beating the information out of you all I need to do is inject you with this, Sodium Pentothal."

She jabbed the needle into his arm to which Nightwing flinched.

"Now Mr. Grayson, I want you to tell me everything you know about The Justice League."

ABOVE GOTHAM CITY

Batman spotted the six blimps; he flew the Batwing next to one of them, climbed out and into the blimps cockpit. That was the easy bit, now for the tricky part. Batman looked at the computer console that was running it, he typed something into the console and a message popped up on the screen.

Batman read it out to himself. "No entry, autopilot engaged."

He looked round and spotted the bomb in the background, it was huge. He cursed to himself that he had failed to notice it when he came in.

"Robin, come in."

"I'm here." He replied.

"I can't take control of the blimps, I'm in one of them and it says that it's autopilot is engaged. The system must have been encrypted, if one's like this then the rest will be the same. I need you to try and find out where these are heading."

"Ok, I'm checking now."

"Any word from Batgirl or Nightwing?" Batman asked.

"Batgirl said that Crane has been taken to hospital then he'll be going straight to Arkham, But there's been no word from Nightwing. His comm. is down, nothing whatsoever."

The radio went quiet for a while whilst Robin was searching for the Blimps courses. "I've got it he said."

"Where are they heading?"

"The centre of Gotham, they're going to crash together then spray the city with Fear Toxin I guess, weird though."

"What is?"

"Either I'm getting really good at this hacking stuff or it was way too easy to get the flight paths."

"What did you do to get them?" Batman asked.

"I went on to the Gotham Airspace website, did a little hack that Batgirl taught me and I was in then got them up easy."

"Something's not right here." Batman said.

"What do you mean?"

"This just feels wrong, all of it does."

"Well done Bat's!" A voice said over a loudspeaker inside the blimp.

"Joker." Batman said with hate.

"The one and only." He laughed

"What are you planning?!"

"You'll see, now it's time for me to address my audience."

Several Loudspeakers were attached to the outside of the blimps as well; they all clicked on in unison which was heard throughout Gotham.

"Greetings all," Joker said. "I don't suppose any of you remember that little threat that Scarecrow made hmm? Well I know he said that he was going to set off the bombs at eleven o'clock tonight but he's been incapacitated so you're all going to have to put up with my rules. This means that I'm going to start the party early, and boy oh boy its gunna go with a bang!"

Batman heard a small beeping sound; he turned round and saw the bomb had a timer. A timer that had just been activated with four minutes till it hit zero.

"Why are you doing this?!" Batman shouted.

The loudspeaker in the blimp clicked back on again. "Do you really think I can explain my plan in four minutes Bat's?"

Batman didn't answer.

"Oh you don't need to say anything, you're silence speaks volumes. I'm not going to tell you the whole plan because that would spoil the fun, no; I'm going to tell you half of it. You see Crane was an experiment. I had injected him with a special drug that I had created. The results were quite outstanding don't you think?"

"You nearly destroyed Crane."

"Nearly being the word, so you can't accuse me of anything. You know something Bat's, out of all this madness that is going on I'm surprised that you haven't asked me about Harley, the young doctor I recruited."

Batman had forgotten all about her.

"Tut-tut, she will be disappointed that you forgot about her, anyhow, you know what the best part about this plan is?"

"What?" Batman asked whilst keeping his eye on the timer with now two minutes to go and typing various commands into the computer console.

"It's the fact that I managed to get Cadmus involved."

"What?"

"Project New Gotham, ohhh, it's a killer."

"What are you talking about?!" Batman shouted growing impatient.

"Come on detective! For Project New Gotham to commence was for Gotham to be threatened one more time and Cadmus would come in to save the day but at a cost, and here's the punch line. All the heroes and villains get rounded up and their fate hangs in the balance, life and death so to speak. WORLD WAR THREE IS HERE BATS!!!"

"No." Batman said in shock.

"There's nothing you can do to stop it, you're powerless against it! Oh and look, here they come now. The war has begun. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN BAT'S!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!"


	6. Epilogue

Batman:

**F**_**R**_I_G_**H**T _K__**N**_**I**G_H__**T**_

_EPILOGUE _

Batman sat in the large meeting room of the Justice League Watchtower that orbited Earth. With him were Robin, Batgirl, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkgirl and J'onn J'onzz.

"What happened?" Wonder Woman asked.

Batman sighed with his head in his hands. "Project New Gotham has been activated as well as all the other Projects around the world. It's because of Joker, he poisoned Crane, turned him into that monster, put Gotham in danger. A woman named Amanda Waller is in charge of it, she knows who I am and possibly who you are too."

"How did you escape from the blimps?" Green Lantern enquired.

"Joker was ranting about his plan as usual, the whole time I had been trying to hack the controls on the blimps and send them flying over the sea so when they did explode the Fear Toxin wouldn't affect anyone. However it was all a trick, all that was inside the bombs was confetti. We'd been played all along, there was no Fear Toxin; it was all just part of his scheme to get Cadmusinvolved. He droveCrane insane thinking that people would fear him and give him the respect he so desperately wanted."

"Is Cadmus really rounding up the heroes and villains?" Hawkgirl asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Superman answered. "It's already started in Gotham and Metropolis."

"Keystone City as well." Flash added. "Guys in body armour started shooting at me for no reason."

"I jumped out of the blimp just as the timer reached zero," Batman said getting back on subject. "They all exploded firing confetti everywhere."

"That's when I came in and caught you." Superman added.

"I would have made it back inland." Batman said.

"Your cape maybe pretty amazing but there's no way you would have made it." Superman said honestly.

Batman stared at him.

"Then again you never know," Superman added quickly.

"J'onn are you ok?" Wonder Woman asked noticing that he was holding his head.

He didn't reply.

"J'onn?" She asked again.

He looked up. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Batman asked.

"It's Nightwing, he was calling to me."

"What's happened to him?"

"He's been captured by Cadmus, they've been interrogating him on all of us. He said that he hasn't broken yet but he's not sure how much longer he can last."

"Oh god." Batgirl murmured. "We've got to save him."

"We need to get blueprints of Cadmus." Superman said. "We need to locate his cell, find the weak points in the facility then plan a strategic attack. We need to save him but we also need to know what we could be walking into."

Superman turned and looked at Batman who was simply sitting still looking like he was deep in thought. "Batman?" He asked. "We're going to save him, we just need to,"

"No." He said.

"What?" Batgirl questioned.

"J'onn," Batman said whilst standing up and walking across the room. "Tell Nightwing it's going to be ok."

"What are you doing?" Robin asked.

"Tell Nightwingthat I'm coming to save him, right now." Batman walked out of the room and headed towards the shuttle that would take him back to Earth.

"Batman, stop." Superman called out.

He carried on walking though.

"We need a plan; you can't just run in there headfirst."

"I can do whatever I want."

"You were the person who taught me that I should always think a situation through, look beyond the obvious choice."

Batman stopped, turned round and sighed.

"I know you're annoyed," Superman began. "I would be too; you were played from the beginning by a psychopath. But the only way to beat this is if we get a plan together. I promise that we'll rescue Nightwing, you have my word."

"Thank you Clark." Batman said.

"Come on; let's get the blueprints for the Cadmus facility."

"One thing though," Batman said. "When it comes to me getting Joker don't get in my way."

"I'll be watching." Superman replied. "I'll let you get him, but I won't let do anything else; I won't let you overstep the mark…ever. We can't afford to lose you."

"I won't kill him; I'll just beat the living hell out of him."

_ELSEWHERE_

"It's all falling into place." Lex Luthor smiled. "Soon the heroes of earth will fall to their knees."

"Soon Gotham will be mine." Joker said, a blood red smile covering his face. "Disorder will flood the streets, chaos will fill the air and anarchy is what Gotham will be in."

"I trust that our deal still withstands?" Lex asked.

"Of course, what kind of business partner would I be if I didn't stick to the agreements that were made?"

"When can I get the drug?"

"You should be getting it right now; my boys should be breaking into one of your facilities and leaving it there." Joker smiled.

"Breaking in?"

"Don't worry; you won't even know they've been there."

"I need to know the effects." Lex said.

"The drug will kill anyone in exactly two hours; it will eat away at them 'till all that's left is a rotting husk, but do you want to know the best part?"

"What?"

"There is no cure! So what ever you do, don't get infected by it."

"Is the drug detectable?"

"Nope." Joker said shaking his head. "Not until it's too late. The drug can be inhaled, injected, digested; it can be taken however you want. Make someone take a shower in it for all I care."

"Tell me something Joker," Lex began. "How do you plan on evading Cadmus, after all I'm immune from them, so to speak."

"Just because I can't hide behind a company doesn't mean I haven't got somewhere safe. Don't you worry Lexy, times are changing and these are times that will be remembered forever."

* * *

A/N: That's it, Joker has finally gone off the deep end, Lex is once again up to his neck in dodgy dealings and things are so bad the Justice League are going to get involved. This is the end of the Fright Knight story but not the end of this saga. There will be a follow up to this, i just haven't thought of a name for it yet; so the working title is Batman 4 and it will wrap this whole thing up. It might take a while to be posted on here as I'm working extra hard to get a decent plot line. See you soon and Merry Christmas!


End file.
